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Updated April 18, 2024 at 10 AM

Following last weekend’s unprecedented attack on Israel by Iran, we are calling on the House to advance a supplemental aid package to provide $26.4 billion in vital support, including funds for essential defense systems. This package will also allocate additional resources to the Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) to safeguard communities from antisemitic violence. Contact your representatives to stress the significance of this funding.

  • Following Iran’s attack on Israel on Saturday night, Israeli officials have reassured allies across the globe that Israel intends to retaliate in only a limited manner that avoids escalation into a wider war.
    • On Sunday, Iran shut down its nuclear installations and evacuated international observers from those sites; it did reopen on Tuesday. Iran’s President Ibrahim Raisi threatened that if Israel attacks, Iran will respond “in a wide-ranging and painful manner to any small act that would harm Iran’s interests.”
    • According to various news reports, the US has now approved a potential Israeli Rafah operation in exchange for the Jewish state not directly conducting counterstrikes on Iran at present.
  • Yesterday, Hezbollah attacked the Bedouin village of Arab el-Aramshe in the north. Some 18 people were wounded including one who is in critical condition and one who is in serious condition. As is the case with all towns in the area, the village was largely evacuated due to its proximity to the Lebanese border.
    • Meanwhile, the IDF conducted a large-scale exercise in the northern sector, where forces trained for possible offensive operations as well as defensive measures.
  • Israel is still waiting for a positive Hamas response to a proposal for a hostage deal and truce put forward by the US, together with Egyptian and Qatari mediators. Israel had previously accepted the agreement. US President Joe Biden said “It’s now up to Hamas. They need to move on the proposal that has been made so we get these hostages home where they belong.”
  • According to the IDF, Israel has opened a new northern crossing to Gaza, more trucks are crossing into the Hamas-run enclave, and the humanitarian situation on the ground has improved.
  • US naval ships, headed for the Gaza Strip to build a temporary pier or floating dock have now arrived in Crete. The ships left Fort Eustis on the James River on March 12 to make their way across the Atlantic Ocean to Gaza.
  • Israel continues to do everything in its power to bring massive quantities of aid into the Gaza Strip. Almost every day, the number of aid trucks entering Gaza breaks a new record.
  • In the north, Hezbollah continues to fire at Israeli targets, triggering significant Israeli retaliations.
  • The number of Hamas rocket attacks on Israel remains negligible on most days, due to Hamas’ significantly diminished capabilities.
  • In the Red Sea, the US, the UK, and Israel continue to defend against attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. Similarly, the US military continues to strike at pro-Iranian targets in Syria and Iraq.

Since October 7:

  • 1,543 Israelis have been killed, including 604 soldiers.
  • 105 hostages have been freed, but 133 remain in captivity.
  • 11,500+ rockets have been fired at Israeli civilian targets.
  • Over 14,500 Israelis have been injured.

See here for a list of the names of those murdered that have been released so far, and here for a site in Hebrew with the names and photos of fallen soldiers.

Check the latest Times of Israel reports here.

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